Offenbach / Tchaikovsky / Smetana / Brahms / Nicolai / Suppe

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

Kaleidoscope
Classical Used - LP PHS 900-022 Philips
Stunning Deep Groove White Label Promo Stereo Housed In A Laminated Jacket. Charles Mackerras Conducting The London Symphony Orchestra. “From The Opening Brass Tuttis Of The Overture To "Orpheus In The Underworld" We Know We Are In The Presence Of A Superb Recording. The Following Clarinet Cadenza Gives A Very Good Mid-Stage Perspective While An Accompanying Oboe Solo Outlines The Outer Edges Of A Very Wide Soundstage. The Pastoral Opening Of "The Merry Wives Of Windsor" Overture Presents A Very Broad, And Deep, Soundstage. The Introduction, Essentially A Forest Idyll, Highlights Timpani, Deep Into The Left Rear Of The Stage, Along With Horns In The Bass Register Placed Directly Behind The Timpani. The ‘Sprite Music’ Of The Allegro Section Features Divided Violins Playing Piano Contrasted With Loud Exchanges From The Entire Brass Section. Orchestral Tuttis, Featuring Prominent Trombone, Bass Drum And Cymbals, Make For An Evenly Balanced Soundstage. Nicolai’s Powerful Coda Features Chromatic Brass Notes In The Trombone Section Which Stand Above The Entire Ensemble Bringing The Work To A Rousing Close. In The "Abu Hassan" Overture, By Carl Maria Von Weber, The Orchestra Resembles A Giant Janissary Ensemble Or Turkish Percussion Section. Janissary Music Is Turkish Percussion Consisting Of Large Drum, Cymbals And Jingling Johnney (Triangle.) The Overture, After All, Is A Prelude To An Opera Based On "Abu-L-Hassan The Wag, Or The Sleeper Awakened" From The Arabian Nights. As With The Other Light Compositions On This Recording, Percussion And Brass Are Delicately Scored Alongside Filigree Like String Writing. This Overture, Perhaps More Than The Others, Displays The Excellent Balance Phillips Engineers Achieved In Capturing Quiet Cymbal And Triangle Notes Above Running Passages In The First Violins.” George Mardinly, Positive Feedback.... more details